Like millions of Americans, I watched history being made Election Day when America elected Senator Barack Obama as our 44th President.  Even as I savored the joy of having witnessed history, I wondered what the Obama Administration would tackle first.  Since Election Day I have speculated about how the Obama Administration's to-do list will match up to my expectations -- I know that I am not alone.  As we count down to the end of the Bush presidency and the beginning of the Obama Administration, I sampled the views of a few reproductive justice activists to find out what progress they hope to see come out of the next four years.

Loretta Ross, National Coordinator for SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, shares some of SisterSong's priorities has for the Obama Administration: "The Hyde Amendment restricting abortion funding for poor women should be eliminated. In fact, all abortion restrictions should be removed, including the Global Gag Rule, and federal prohibitions that affect Native American women, women in the military, women in the Peace Corps, incarcerated women, and women in the District of Columbia.  The sexual rights of young people should be respected and protected, including the rights of young mothers. Women should have the right to accept or refuse medical care, ending forced Caesareans. Women should have the right to use midwives to deliver their babies and midwives should not be criminalized for providing these services. New reproductive technologies should be regulated to ensure they are not socially abused by greedy profiteers. Disabled, immigrant, gender non-conforming, transgender and queer people should have the same reproductive rights as everyone else.

"Stop shackling pregnant, incarcerated women during labor and delivery and, in fact, investigate all reproductive abuses against incarcerated women to ensure they have the optimal opportunity to have healthy babies and to use contraceptives. End citizenship documentation requirements for healthcare. Healthcare should be affordable, accessible and safe for all people. The human right to health is not negotiable based on immigration status. Eliminating STIs and HIV/AIDS should be reprioritized with adequate funding for ending these diseases in communities of color, including supporting female condoms as well as male condoms, and expanding research on microbicides."

Ann Whidden, Internet Director National Sexuality Resource Center, says: "I, and my colleagues at the National Sexuality Resource Center, feel like this is a huge opening to re-examine how healthy sexuality is thought about and promoted. We don't want to think about merely regaining the ground lost by damaging abstinence-only policies, because moving back to 'comprehensive' sex ed would be doing just that -- moving backwards. We would like for the administration to pay heed to the data and research out there and implement policies and programs that make comprehensive sexuality education that is truly comprehensive -- that are based in the promotion of healthy sexuality, not just disease or pregnancy prevention -- and that look at how faith, gender, culture, orientation and age intersect with our sexual selves. This is our moment to truly re-vision how we want our young people to function as sexual beings, and to give them the tools, the knowledge and the context to allow them to make fully informed, healthy decisions about all aspects of their reproductive and sexual health."

Jill Filipovic, Feministe, says: "I think first he should focus on health care -- universal coverage, of course, but also on the myriad other ways to help Americans live their best, healthiest lives. A lot of that has to happen before people actually get sick, and a lot of the things that make us sick -- or that make us need care -- can be dealt with policy-wise. That means food policy -- making sure that fresh, healthy food is widely available and affordable, and that pesticide-free and additive-free foods aren't only for the privileged that can afford it. It means holistic aid to low-income families with children -- making sure that parents and children have the care they need, and that single moms don't have to work two or three minimum-wage jobs in unhealthy environments just to provide the basics. It means responsible environmental practices so that we're breathing clean air and eating clean food. And it means reproductive health policies that treat women like human beings in need of health care, not political ping-pong balls -- requiring insurance companies to cover birth control just like any other prescription, fact-based sexual health education, abortion access, and high-quality pre-natal and well-baby care for all women." 

Jessica Arons, Director Women's Health and Rights Program Center for American Progress, says: "I'd like an administration that respects women, shares information rather than hiding or distorting it, and works hard to improve people's lives."

Mikhaela Reid, feminist cartoonist, of Boiling Point, writes: "For a cynical, jaded angry political cartoonist such as myself, the fact that I feel any hope at all is a REALLY huge deal. I am surprisingly hopeful for reproductive justice under an Obama administration. Of course, after Bush, we're all suffering from lowered expectations. We can realistically expect he'll appoint progressive (or at least somewhat liberal) Supreme Court Justices who will defend Roe v. Wade and interpret laws in favor of reproductive justice.  We can expect that he'll repeal the global gag rule, which I hear is very likely (though our next GOP president will probably reinstate it). Beyond that, I'm not yet sure. I'm not sure how much he will or can do about the state-by-state erosion of reproductive justice -- the laws, policies and intimidation that make it near impossible to get a safe legal abortion in so many states. The onerous waiting periods, the parental notification laws, forced ultrasounds, and so on.  Despite Roe, it's near-impossible -- whether financially, geographically, or otherwise -- for many women to exercise anything even approximating a 'choice.' And even though Obama is pro-choice, I'm not sure how much of a focus reproductive justice will get in his presidency, or how much of a priority it is for him amidst all the other shit currently hitting the fan-the economy, the war, and so on. He'll do the right thing when it comes up, but will he really dig into the issues beyond just the basic legal rights? He does have a background as a civil rights lawyer, so I'm cautiously optimistic."

These women expressed many of my own hopes and concerns for the Obama Administration.  I am optimistic in a way I haven't been for nearly a decade and yet I worry that our nation's economic challenges will limit what we can actually accomplish.  When I discussed the historic election with a woman I mentor at a local shelter and asked her what she wants to see out of the new administration, she replied, "I've already seen it and felt it.  We've got hope, right?  And a nation excited for change."  I'll add that we have a lot of work to do and I'm excited to get started.